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Timeless wisdom from the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Sanskrit literature
Rigveda 1.89.1
आ नो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वतः।
A no bhadrah kratavo yantu vishvatah.
Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions.
One of the most celebrated verses of the Rig Veda — a prayer for openness to wisdom from every source.
Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11
सत्यं वद। धर्मं चर।
Satyam vada. Dharmam cara.
Speak truth. Walk in dharma.
The teacher's final instruction to the graduating student — two words that contain the whole of ethical life.
Bhagavad Gita 2.47
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana.
Your right is to perform your duty alone, and not to its fruits at any time.
The most quoted verse of the Bhagavad Gita — the foundation of karma yoga and selfless action.
Bhagavad Gita 6.5
उद्धरेदात्मनाऽत्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत्।
Uddhared atmana atmanam natmanam avasadayet.
Let a person lift themselves up by their own effort. Let them not let themselves fall.
The self is both the friend and the enemy of the self. The choice belongs to no one else.
Mahanarayana Upanishad
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतम्।
Satyam eva jayate nanritam.
Truth alone triumphs — not falsehood.
India's national motto, from the Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6. Spoken as the law of the universe.
Subhashita
अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्। उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्।।
Ayam nijah paro veti ganana laghucetasam. Udaracaritanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam.
"This is mine, that is theirs" — such calculation is for small minds. For the noble of heart, the whole world is one family.
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — perhaps the most profound political philosophy ever expressed in one line.
Hitopadesa
काव्यशास्त्रविनोदेन कालो गच्छति धीमताम्।
Kavyashastra vinodena kalo gacchati dhimatam.
For the intelligent, time passes in the delight of poetry and learning.
The true measure of a life well spent.
Bhartrihari Nitishataka
उत्साहो बलवानार्य नास्त्युत्साहात्परं बलम्।
Utsaho balavan arya nasty utsahat param balam.
O noble one — enthusiasm is mightiest. There is no strength greater than enthusiasm.
From Bhartrihari's 7th-century Nitishataka — the poetry of political and practical wisdom.
Chanakya Neeti
शनैः पन्थाः शनैः कन्था शनैः पर्वतलङ्घनम्। शनैर्विद्या शनैर्वित्तं पञ्चैतानि शनैः शनैः।।
Shanaih panthah shanaih kantha shanaih parvata langhanam. Shanair vidya shanair vittam pancaitani shanaih shanaih.
Step by step one covers a road; stitch by stitch one makes a garment; step by step one crosses a mountain; little by little one gains knowledge; little by little one accumulates wealth. These five happen only gradually.
The original ancient wisdom on patience and compounding.
Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1
अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि।
Aham Brahmasmi.
I am Brahman — I am the totality of all that exists.
One of the four Mahavakyas (great sayings) of the Upanishads — the most direct declaration of non-dual consciousness.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय। मृत्योर्माऽमृतं गमय।
Asato ma sad gamaya. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Mrityorma amritam gamaya.
Lead me from untruth to truth. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality.
The Pavamana prayer — one of the most beautiful invocations in all of world literature.
Bhagavad Gita 4.38
न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते।
Na hi jnanena sadrsham pavitram iha vidyate.
Nothing in this world is as purifying as knowledge.
Krishna to Arjuna — the highest gift one can give or receive.
Subhashita
क्षणशः कणशश्चैव विद्यामर्थं च साधयेत्।
Kshanasah kanasash caiva vidyam artham ca sadhayet.
Gather knowledge moment by moment, wealth grain by grain.
The mathematics of compounding — understood by the ancient Indians millennia before finance.
Mahabharata
न त्वहं कामये राज्यं न स्वर्गं नापुनर्भवम्। कामये दुःखतप्तानां प्राणिनामार्तिनाशनम्।।
Na tv aham kamaye rajyam na svargam naapunarbhavam. Kamaye duhkha taptanam praninam arti nashanam.
I do not desire a kingdom, nor heaven, nor even liberation. I desire only the end of the suffering of all beings consumed by pain.
The bodhisattva vow in Sanskrit — spoken by Draupadi. Compassion as the highest spiritual aspiration.
Yoga Sutras 1.2
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः।
Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah.
Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.
Patanjali's definition of yoga — four words that contain the entire science of consciousness.
What is the most famous Sanskrit quote?
The most universally known Sanskrit phrase is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् — the world is one family), from the Maha Upanishad. Other universally recognised Sanskrit wisdom includes Satyam Eva Jayate (truth alone triumphs) and the opening of the Gayatri Mantra — among the oldest prayers of any living tradition.
Where can I find Sanskrit quotes from the Bhagavad Gita?
The Bhagavad Gita contains 700 verses (shlokas) in 18 chapters. The most often quoted are: 2.47 (on duty without attachment), 2.20 (on the eternal soul), 4.7-8 (on divine descent), 6.5 (on self-upliftment), and 18.66 (the final instruction — complete surrender). VedaLingo teaches these word by word.
What does "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" mean in Sanskrit?
Satyam Shivam Sundaram (सत्यं शिवं सुन्दरम्) means "Truth, Auspiciousness, Beauty." This triad from the Upanishads (corresponding to Sat, Chit, Ananda — being, consciousness, bliss) expresses the three ultimate qualities of reality. It is India's answer to ancient philosophy's search for the transcendentals.
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